Football helmets provided with face guards



Feb. 12, 1957 R. NEWLAND 2,780,815

FOOTBALL HELMETS PROVIDED WITH FACE GUARDS Fi led Dec. 20, 1954 I N V EN TOR. R05c0 NEWLAND Afzfys.

United States Patent 1 2,780,815 FOOTBALL HELMETS PROVIDED WiTH FACE GUARDS Roscoe Newland, Constance, Ky assignor to Hutchinson Brothers Leather Company, Cincinnati, Ohio, a cu partnership Application December 20, 1954, Serial N 0. 476,339 3 Claims. (Cl. 2 9

This invention relates to headgear of the type used by football players and more particularly to helmets provided with face guards.

An object of this invention is to provide a football helmet, having a face guard provided with trunnions which are journaled in the ear holes of the helmet, means being provided for securing the face guard against rotation about its trunnions, to the snap buttons to which the chin straps are attached.

Another object of the invention is to provide a helmet having ear holes and a face guard of light plastic material which is provided at its ends with trunnions adapted to be received in the ear holes, the trunnions being locked in the ear holes by means of snap keys, the guard also being provided with braces that are attachable to the snap buttons secured to the helmet and to which the ends of the chin strap are attached. p p

A further object of the invention is to provide a helmet having pockets on the inside thereof at the ear areas for receiving padding to protect the cars from the face guard trunnions. I

Other objects of the invention will in part be apparent and will in part be obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art to which the invention pertains from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view of a helmet provided with a face guard arranged and constructed in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a view of the face guard showing the trunnions and stays or braces therefor; and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged, partial view in section taken on line III-III of Fig. 1.

As illustrated in the drawings, a helmet 1 which may be of a suitable plastic material, or other hard, light, rigid substance commonly used in football helmets, is provided with padding 3 and 4 at the front and back of the helmet. The padding is sewed to the edge of the helmet as indicated. The inside of the helmet is provided with a series of criss-crossing straps 5 which support the shell of the helmet in spaced relation to the wearers head.

As shown, the ear areas of the helmet are provided with circular apertures 6 and 7 in which the face guard 8 is primarily supported.

The face guard 8 as shown is of substantially horseshoe shape and may be made of a light, strong, stiif material such as that known as Lucite. The ends of the horseshoe are provided with hollow trunnions 9 and 10 adapted to be received in the ear apertures 6 and 7. The trunnions may be integral with the guard or they may be tubular pieces cemented in apertures in the guard.

The trunnions 9 and 10 are locked in place by means of snap keys 12 of substantially U-shape. These keys are received in grooves in the trunnions and are so shaped that a portion thereof bears against the inside surface of the helmet shell.

The helmet is provided with snap buttons 13 that are secured thereto. These buttons provide the means for attaching the chin strap 14 to the helmet. The chin strap 14 as shown is provided with a snap 15 at each end there- Patented Feb. 12, 1957 of (only one being shown) which have snapping engage merit with the snap buttons 13. As usual, the straps may be adjustably attached to the snaps, I I

In order to preventturning of the face guard about its trunnions, the guard is provided with a pair of stays or braces 16 which are rotatably secured to the face guard by means of screws 17. These stays are provided with apertures 18 at their outer ends for receiving the snap buttons attached to the helmet. When the snaps 15 of the chin strap are attached to the snap buttons, the stays are held between the snaps and the snap buttons as shown.

The helmet is provided on its inner surface at the ear areas with padded pockets 19. Each of these pockets are adapted to receive a pad 20 preferably circular in form, and having an aperture substantially concentric with its adjacent face guard trunnion. Thus, when these pads are inserted, the wearer of the helmet is protected against injury by the trunnions of the face guard, without impeding the sense of hearing.

By anchoring the face guard to the helmet by means of trunnions received in the ear holes of the helmet, and by staying the face guard against rotation by means of the stays which are attached to the snap buttons, a helmet having a rigid, non-movable, protective face guard is provided.

The face guard is easily removed by removing the stay keys 12 and bending the face guard sufficiently to disengage the trunnions.

Having thus described the invention, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art to which the invention pertains that various modifications and changes may be made in the illustrated embodiment without departing from either the spirit or the scope of the invention.

Therefore what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A helmet having ear flaps provided with apertures therein, and snap buttons on said flaps to which the snaps of the chin strap may be detachably secured, and a face guard of substantially U-shape provided with trunnions extending into said apertures, and braces on said face guard adjacent said trunnions but spaced therefrom and provided wtih means for attaching the same to said snap buttons to prevent rotation of the face guard about said trunnions.

2. A face guard for a football helmet having ear flaps provided with apertures therein comprising a substantial- 1y U-shaped member of relatively light, stiff material provided with inwardly projecting trunnions at the ends thereof, said trunnions being adapted to be inserted in the apertures of the ear flaps of said helmet, said U-shaped member being provided with braces rotatably secured thereto at a location adjacent the trunnions and having apertures at the free ends thereof adapted to receive the snap buttons of the helmet when the face guard is attached to the same.

3. A helmet comprising ear flaps provided with apertures therein, snap buttons on said flaps to which the I References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Hart Aug. 26, 1550 Adams Sept. 30, 1952 

